Japan cuts size of centenary cup to save money in world's most rapidly ageing country

Japan has so many citizens over 100 that it has been forced to cut costs by reducing the size of the silver cups it presents to those who reach their hundredth year.

The Japanese are the world's longest-lived people, a phenomenon experts have attributed to a range of factors, including diet and the wide availability of health carePhoto: GETTY

By Our Foreign Staff and Agencies in Tokyo

5:44AM GMT 04 Mar 2009

Last year 19,769 people reached triple figures in the world's most rapidly ageing country, compared with only 153 in 1963, the year that the cups were first presented.

"We realised there's not such a big difference in appearance if we cut the diameter from 10.5 to 9 cm (4.13 to 3.54 inches)," an official at the health ministry said. "We also had to think about how to continue to do this for an increasing number of people on a limited budget."

The cups are presented on Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday celebrated every Sept 15, to people who have turned 100 in the past year. The cost varies with the price of silver, but the Yomiuri newspaper said that the cost of producing a commemorative cup and its wooden presentation box was about 7,000-8,000 yen ($72-82).

The Japanese are the world's longest-lived people, a phenomenon experts have attributed to a range of factors, including diet and the wide availability of health care. There are 36,436 people aged over 100 in a population of 127.8 million.